Manjushri, is an ancient Buddha who vowed to emanate throughout the universe as the always youthful, princely Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom. He is often identified as the oldest and most significant bodhisattva in Mahayana literature. He is first referred to in the Prajnaparamita sutras and through this association very early in the tradition he came to symbolize the embodiment of prajna (transcendent wisdom).